Preparedness Month has special meaning this year

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

The Borough of White Oak Office of Emergency Management, joined by volunteers from all of the borough’s first responder agencies, held a drive-thru Community Preparedness Day last week to serve as a precursor to National Preparedness Month.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency recognize September as National Preparedness Month and promote family and community disaster planning that can be used throughout the year. 

White Oak OEM Co-Deputy Director Paul Falavolito said he takes joy in helping his community and neighbors prepare for the possibility of a disaster and in educating them about the havoc that natural and other disasters can wreak.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent damage caused in southern states by Hurricane Laura serve as perfect examples of the need to get and stay prepared for disaster to strike.

For three hours Thursday, residents of White Oak and surrounding communities drove through the borough building’s parking lot and were met by volunteers such as Mayor Ina Jean Marton and Councilwoman Julie Opferman, who gave them free brown bags filled with large bottles of hand sanitizer, batteries and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Family Preparedness booklet.

“We’ve been trying to think of something we could do for the borough with the pandemic going on,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Jones, adding that Falavolito recently reached out to a contact at FEMA to see what the borough could do to emphasize the importance of National Preparedness Month.

After coordinating with the federal agency, a FEMA truck carrying 400 gallons of hand sanitizer and a pallet containing 30,000 batteries arrived in White Oak. 

The mayor was doing volunteer work at the White Oak Animal Safe Haven when Falavolito called her with excitement in his voice about taking delivery of the supplies.

“Paul called me and said ‘You gotta get over here right now,’” Marton said. “I get over here and there is this huge trailer truck, a huge truck. He told me what all of it was for and I just said ‘Wow this is phenomenal.’”

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